An Abundance of Katherines

 

Bibliography
Green, John, 2008. AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES. New York, NY: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780142410707

Plot Summary
Child prodigy Colin Singleton was dumped once again by his girlfriend, Katherine. Colin's had 19 girlfriends, all named Katherine. However, this last Katherine really did a number on him. So much so, that Colin's best friend declares they need to embark on a road trip to get over Colin's recent heartbreak. While on the road trip, Colin begins to fear he is a genius who will not accomplish anything, which leads him to create a mathematical theorem to predict the outcome of romantic relationships. In Gutshot, Tennessee, Colin will find the answer he's looking for with the help of friendship, laughter, anagrams, and surprisingly, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. 

Critical Analysis
Green's quirky, witty writing captures young adults attention as they take time to understand Colin Singleton's genius mind. Colin struggles with social interactions and feelings, but he has no problem with retaining factual information, languages, and creating nonstop anagrams. Colin is no ordinary teenager, yet somehow, he is unknowingly emotional like one. He fears he will not become anything and will be a "washed up" child prodigy. Young adults are torn between feeling like kids and having to prove they are ready for adulthood. Afraid of not doing anything outstanding in life and being defined as a guy whose been broken up with 19 times by girls named Katherine. In order to heal, Colin's best friend, Hassan, insists on taking a spontaneous road trip. Stopping in Gutshot, Tennessee, drawn to the burial site of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Colin creates the Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, to prevent this hurt from happening all over again. While he's taking a much needed break from the Katherine's back home, Colin begins to heal from the hurt with the help of Hassan and Lindsey (their Archduke burial tour guide), with their friendship, jokes, mathematical equations, anagrams, and time to reflect. Green gives Colin the chance to tell his story in an intellectually, unique way. Even providing readers with footnotes and a math appendix to better understand the language and equations used. Young adults will be inspired by this unique show of finding yourself, proving you can get through anything with the help of a friend and a little bit of math. 

Review Excerpt(s)
Michael L. Printz Honor Book
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist 
New York Times Bestseller
Starred review in BOOKLIST: "Green follows his Printz-winning Looking for Alaska (2005) with another sharp, intelligent story, this one full of mathematical problems, historical references, word puzzles, and footnotes."
Starred review in KIRKUS REVIEWS: "Fully fun, challengingly complex and entirely entertaining." 

Connections
- Readers who enjoy the quirky writing of John Green will enjoy this story, giving readers an entertaining road trip story among two best friends. 
- A story about an awkward genius who takes a road trip with his best friend to get over his recent breakup. Along the way, he begins to understand what went wrong and finds himself and how he contributes to the world. 
- Fans of mathematical theorems will appreciate the way math is integrated and used creatively in this story, as the character creates a theorem to predict the future of relationships. 
- Similar book recommendations:
Green, John, 2014. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. ISBN 9780142424179.
Han, Jenny, 2010. THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY. ISBN 9781416968290.

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